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Q & A with Ashlee Meadows of Ash Jewelry Studio

Q1: Tell us a little about yourself. Hello. I’m Ashlee. I’m from Raleigh originally, but currently residing in Charlotte. I’m a wife, a mother and a creator. I’ve been creating as long as I can remember. As a child I loved painting, gluing, sculpting . . . etc. Pretty much anything that made a mess, although I wasn’t always good at cleaning up. Not much has changed. I work in my at home studio moving from surface to surface, only stopping to clean up when there is no more table space available work on.Q2: Share with us about your art form and how you came to fall in love with it.I fell in love with clay during high school and ended up going on the get a BFA with an emphasis in ceramics. I found it very exciting to create something from nothing. There was no canvas to restrain the size or shape of my creation. I got to make my own one of a kind canvas. Another thing that drew me to clay was the magic of the firing process. There are many steps to this process, normally including multiple firings. It’s just amazing to me that I can make something out of clay and glaze, which in its unfired state is dull and chalky, but after it’s fired the end product is vibrant and glassy. My favorite part of the entire process is opening the kiln after the final firing to see the finished product.

Q3: What inspires you? Tell us about your creative process and approach. Sometimes I’m drawn to the work of another artist, such as Piet Mondrian’s paintings which inspired the design I paint on my petite square studs. Other times I’m motivated by something I see in nature or even on Pinterest. Once I see something that inspires me I usually first sketch out some ideas on paper to explore how I might apply that idea to clay or metal. Then I take my sketches and get to work creating in the studio. Once I create a few dozen ideas out of clay I can more clearly see the direction I should focus on, which is often times very different from what first inspired me. At this point I find my favorites and my mind opens up to all the possibilities for shapes, sizes, colors and textures within that direction. At the end of the process, hopefully I have a collection of beautiful pieces of jewelry that I’m proud of.Q4: What's your favorite art work (yours or another artist)?I’m not sure I’m capable of choosing a favorite artwork from all the amazing works throughout history, so maybe I’ll have to pick the one that has moved me the most. While studying abroad in Spain during college I was able to visit the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. The Reina Sofia houses “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso, which depicts the sufferings of war. It is an enormous painting that portrays an abstract yet highly emotional scene. It’s not something I would want to hang in my house because it exudes pain, but seeing it in person was an experience I will never forget.

Q5: Describe your dream project/collection?Something I think about often is expanding my product line into home décor, maybe modern ceramic wall art or handmade porcelain light fixtures. If I had 100 hours to work each day I would make that dream a reality.

Q6: Where can we find and purchase your pieces?You can find the widest selection and most current designs on my website, ashjewelrystudio.com. To see my pieces in person you can stop by the Bechtler Museum Gift Shop or Moxie Mercantile at Plaza Midwood.

Q7: If you weren't a creative, what would you be?I honestly can’t imagine not being able to create, but if I were forced to work in a different field I would probably choose education. I think I would love being a kindergarten teacher. I just love little children. I love the way their minds work. I love the way their faces light up when they feel proud of themselves. What a rewarding job that must be! Good thing I’m a mom so I get to experience these wonderful things with my three girls.